Converging Points
by starfreckled
Summary: Naruto misses his best friend, and meeting him again in certain circumstances changes his li -- grades forever. High School AU
1. Chapter 1

HEY GUYS. I haven't been writing much, but this summer I signed myself up for the sn_exchange over at LJ. This is the result! It wasn't meant to be split into parts/chapters, but the fic ended up being unfortunately too big for one LJ post =_= I hope it works either way, and that you enjoy it!

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Naruto hated math. They were complicated, full of symbols he could never remember the meaning of, and gave him nightmares. He'd woken up in cold sweat once, division signs and fractions dancing in front of his eyes. He could never understand the logic behind any of the steps and solutions they were taught; he always found his own ways to resolve a problem, but he'd quickly learnt that if he didn't apply what the teacher was telling him to, he'd fail. Which was a terrifying thought, because the last thing he wanted was to face Konohamaru's mockeries if he ended up in the same math class as the kid.

Clearing his throat, Naruto shifted in his seat and tried peeking over his arm at Shikamaru, the lazy genius kid of the class. He was incredibly smart but spent most of his hours in school sleeping away. And yet he had the best average of the entire institution, which was infuriating. Naruto had almost whooped and jumped for joy when he'd been told his seat would be right next to Shikamaru's, thinking his days of failing were over; he could easily sneak glances at the other boy's copy. Except, of course, he wasn't quite that lucky.

He groaned when he realised, that, once again, Shikamaru hadn't filled up any of the math problems and was instead snoring softly, forehead in the crook of his elbow.

_iGreat. Now what?/i_

Clearing his throat and shifting in the other direction, Naruto tired peeking at his other neighbour, a quiet, shy girl that he wasn't sure he could remember the name of. Hina? Hinamoto? She was sorta weird, but as far as he knew she got decent enough grades. She was always nice to him, too, offering him her little bento boxes when he'd lose his lunch money…Naruto, mid-peek, started to change his mind, feeling bad for cheating off of such a nice girl. He hadn't noticed that she'd moved her arm away to allow him to see better, because he was hit in the back of the head by an eraser.

"Naruto!"

He turned at the hiss, rubbing at the back of his head and glaring at Sakura, sitting right behind him.

"What?!" He said harshly under his breath, as if he'd done nothing wrong. Which he hadn't, really! The thought doesn't count, the action does…right? Something like that.

Sakura kicked at his chair under the table, throwing a quick glance at the teacher to make sure she wasn't going to get caught. He was caught up in his small orange book, as always, so she turned to hiss at Naruto again.

"Stop trying to cheat, you idiot! You just had to study like I told you to!"

Rubbing at the back of his head a final time, Naruto stuck out his tongue at her before turning back to his test, looking down warily at the entirely blank answer sections. He was doomed. He'd have to spend the rest of his life studying with Konohamaru as the boy mocked him endlessly. A true nightmare.

He decided to take back that thought when Sai turned around from the seat in front of him, lips curved in that stupidly fake smile of his. Now i_that/i_ was a true nightmare. He braced himself for whichever words would escape the other boy's lips, gritting his teeth. What would it be this time? His manliness? His…manhood? In his defence, Naruto thought he wasn't done going through puberty and eventually would catch up and be burlier, manlier, and bigger than any other boy in their class. Or at least, that's what his father had been telling him when he came home vexed and with a wounded ego.

"I'm done, Naruto-kun." Sai said to no one, as Naruto had decided to ignore him. He didn't have the patience to deal with him now. His self-esteem was low enough as it was – no need to rub in the fact that apparently even his dick was below average in size(even if this time seemed more aimed at his intelligence, which was just as insulting). How did Sai know, anyways? Was he some kind of expert? Maybe he was just gay. He did have a funny accent when he spoke English, even if he did speak it perfectly. Where had he come from again? It wasn't America, but it was some English speaking country. Naruto couldn't be bothered to remember names, and continued to ignore Sai even as he backed up his chair and shifted closer to Naruto's desk.

Naruto threw a glance at the teacher, sitting with his feet up on the desk. He raised an eyebrow, knowing no other teacher would get away with doing something so rude. Also, with letting the students talk during an exam. Naruto was almost positive the man was only pretending to be engrossed in his book, and was in fact listening to every spoken word, however ushered or whispered it was. Maybe even written. He seemed the type to have some secret super power, with the way he smiled as if he knew a secret you didn't (and never would, his smirk said). That might be why he wore that eye patch all the time. He also had the habit of wearing a mask, which wasn't so strange in Japan, but Naruto couldn't help but be curious considering he'd never once heard the teacher sniffle, cough, or show any sign of having a cold.

He tried to keep ignoring Sai, but the boy was leaning over, a little too close to comfort.

"Get out of my face," Naruto said through gritted teeth, changing his grip on his pencil to make it look more like a weapon to stab someone with, rather than a writing tool. He hoped Sai would get the message. Naruto wasn't entirely sure what was up with Sai. He was hard to read, sometimes acting as if he was in awe of Naruto, with his blond hair and blue eyes, and sometimes acting as if he was inferior. Funnily enough, it was like the embodiment of the Japanese attitude toward him. Both were cold and distant, heightening the feeling of isolation Naruto often felt. Thankfully, Kiba helped with that. It had taken him a while but he'd seen past the foreigner aspect of Naruto, and they were now good friends. Well, Sakura called them Partners In Crime And Everything Else That Breaks Any Kind of Rule, but Naruto liked that title. Besides, the title of best friend was currently taken.

By someone he hadn't seen in nearly three years, but that didn't really matter. Not to him, anyways.

Sai wasn't moving away, so Naruto finally gave him a glare, grabbing his desk at the side, pushing his chair back and taking the furniture along with him. There, safe distance. Sai's smile didn't falter, and with his eyes fixed on Naruto he did the same, moving closer.

Oh, the bastard. He wasn't going to win this.

Naruto grabbed his desk again to pull it further, until the back of his chair hit Sakura's desk, causing her to mistype on her calculator, which Naruto hadn't noticed. He whispered an apology for disturbing her, hoping she wouldn't be too angry. She could have a very bad temper, when she wanted to. She could be downright terrifying, and Naruto had gotten worse bruises from her than from any fight he'd ever gotten into.

Naruto felt a harsh kick to one of the legs of his chair and he startled, looking back to see Sakura's murderous glare pinned right on him. Uh oh. That wasn't going to go well. He opened his mouth to say something stupid and hopefully get a little sympathy, or at least pity, but before he could speak Kakashi dropped his feet from the desk and closed his book shut, sighing.

"Alright, kids! Test over, hand in your sheets before heading out, have a good day, don't drink and drive, and say no to drugs," he said, as if his words were a text he'd been forced to recite and had learnt by heart. Naruto took a second to roll his eyes before hurriedly gathering his things, brushing past Sai on his way down the aisle. He did not want to face Sakura right now.

"Naruto, wait up!" She nearly screeched, and he sped up, almost jogging to the desk. He slapped his sheet on it, giving Kakashi an I'm About To Be Murdered, Please Help Me smile while the man returned it with a I Don't Care, I'm Going To Have Fun Watching smile. Then the man looked down at Naruto's exam sheet and he looked back at him with a look that clearly said he'd never seen someone as stupid as him. Naruto gave up trying to get help from Kakashi, and fled out the door, not watching where he was going. Which was how he walked right into Kiba. Who was blocking his way out, grinning down at him (because Naruto's growth spurt wasn't over, but one day, one day he'd be the tallest!).

"If you know what's good for you'll get out of my way i_right now/i_," Naruto said through gritted teeth, and Kiba only laughed at him and pat his shoulder. The stupid ass never helped him out. He loved to torture Naruto and shove him right into Sakura's evil grasp. Kiba turned the touch into a grip and spun Naruto around to face Sakura, who, speaking of face, had turned red in anger and was clutching her calculator in her hand.

"You idiot! I didn't finish the last problem because of you! What if I fail?! UGH, I have no idea why I even put up with you anymore!" she lashed out, while Naruto started raising his arms to shield himself. She breathed out heavily, closing her eyes, and Naruto relaxed, thinking that she was calming down. That's when his forehead was stabbed by a calculator.

"OW!" His hands immediately went to the already sore spot, rubbing furiously. "That hurt! I didn't do it on purpose; Sai was being a creep again!" He explained quickly, shooting Sai, who was now standing behind Sakura, a glare.

"I don't care!" Sakura replied, pushing past him. "I'm not buying you lunch today like I promised, so good luck finding your own food!" She called back, leaving the room in a stomp.

Kiba whistled low, followed by a chuckle.

"You really pissed her off this time," he said, and Sai nodded wisely.

"Do you think he beat the time where he tried sneaking up on her in the changing room?" Sai asked, titling his head, and Kiba shook his head.

"No way, he'd have been dead if that was the case."

Naruto watched the two discuss his pain and misery, and with a frustrated growl pushed past them and out of the room. They got way too much of a kick out of seeing him beaten up by Sakura and were always trying to see what other accident they could cause to get Naruto in trouble.

"You guys suck! Now I'm going to starve!" He whined as the two followed. Two? Wait, Shikamaru was missing. He blinked and stopped in the middle of the hallway, turning around to look for him.

"Where'd Shikamaru go?" he asked, and Sai shrugged while Kiba rolled his eyes.

"You know him. Started the test 10 minutes before the end, finished it in 3, and left 7 minutes early. He's probably already well into his nap on the roof."

Naruto had a tendency to forget people were smarter than him. Likely because it filled him with a frustration only doing something stupid could make him forget, and now not only did he get in trouble with school for those, but he got punched by Sakura. She had a mean fist, and it really did hurt whenever she hit him. He often wondered if maybe she did some kind of martial arts outside of school in secret. It was kind of weird, because he knew it wasn't supposed to be attractive, in Japan, for a girl to be strong and fit. They seemed to prefer small and borderline weak girls. It was always fascinating, to notice little things like that about Japan. He'd lived there most of his life, but he'd had enough chances to return to his home country to develop the two cultures. He was lucky, but sometimes it was hard living in Japan when you were so obviously a foreigner.

Naruto was shaken out of his thoughts when he walked right into an open classroom door, smacking his head and falling on his ass. He heard Kiba's laughter and could imagine Sai's amused smirk, and turned to glare at them both. They'd obviously let him walk right into that one.

"That's not funny, guys!" Naruto called out, rubbing at his forehead and getting up, picking up his books. How many injuries to his head so far today? He'd walked into the glass doors at home in the morning…received Sakura's eraser on the forehead in first period and at the back of the head during the exam…and the calculator. Now the door.

Maybe i_that/i_ was why he was so stupid. He stared at the door for a few seconds, blinking, before kicking it. Too hard. And promptly hopping on one foot and clutching the other.

"OW! OW OW OW!" He said loudly, but no one in the hall bothered to look. They were used to the foreigner's antics, and most had excelled in the art of ignoring him and how loud he could get.

Kiba's laughter became a roar and Naruto growled at him. He didn't see what was funny, but Kiba apparently needed an arm against the wall to hold himself up.

"You're amazing, man! You just do all this stuff to yourself!" He said between laughs, shaking his head.

"We don't even need to do anything, just let you run free and you'll entertain us," he added as he calmed down, and Naruto continued to glare at him.

"Whatever, let's go have lunch," Naruto said sulkily as he shrugged his shoulder to readjust his school bag. Maybe he'd be lucky and Hinata would have prepared a nice little lunch box for him today.

•

Naruto sighed when he finally spotted his small, modest house. It was the end of the day, and the moment he saw his house from the middle of the street always filled him with a relief and a sense of actually being home. It was still in Japan but it felt a little more normal, a little less tense.

With a deep breath he gave a last few hard pedals, directing his bicycle to glide into the garage. He got off and jumped to the few steps leading to the door, taking out his key while humming some popular tune he'd heard somewhere. He hoped his parents were already home, but hadn't seen either of them much this past week.

"I'm home!" He called as soon as the door was opened, kicking off his shoes, not bothering to place them properly. He put his bag down, but there was no reply to his greeting. Alone again for the night, then.

His parents were good people, but both of them were terribly busy. His father was the ambassador of Sweden, and he'd met his mother during an embassy open house. She'd worked in the embassy of the United Kingdom, and as they often described it had been "hate at first sight". Naruto found it funny that the two of them had despised each other at first, and he found it that much more romantic that now they were married, happy, and with a child. His mother jokingly claimed it was destiny, as they'd both ended up working in Japan at random; neither of them had ever thought of moving to the country, but due to various circumstances had ended up here. They both worked in similar environments, but had different takes to their work. It made it interesting to hear about their days, about the things they did and saw. Naruto liked his parents a lot, and it was thanks to them that he didn't crack under the pressure of being a blond, blue-eyed kid in an Asian country. He was better now, of course, having made new friends that didn't care that he was different, that he had a bit of an accent. But in the beginning, it had been difficult, and he'd been called all sorts of things.

That he didn't really want to be thinking about right now.

Naruto's stomach grumbled loudly as he climbed up the stairs, having spent the day running on a single stale energy bar. He opened the door to the small kitchen, and was greeted by a loud shout.

"ACK!" Naruto jumped, startled, and almost tripped on his own feet. He heard the crystal clear laughter of his mother immediately afterwards and glared as she came out from behind the dining table.

"Gotcha!" She said, snickering. She seemed way too pleased with her prank, for a woman her age, but Naruto couldn't blame her. He'd inherited the pleasure of pranking people from her, so he could see the joy in someone's startled expression. Still, it was frustrating that she was still doing this to him. It was likely that if he wouldn't complain about it she'd still play peek-a-boo with him.

"As always," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. At least his mother wasn't the crazy, controlling type. Kushina was actually great in many ways; she loved running around outside with him, and she was the first to suggest climbing up a tree or trying to jump off a cliff into water. His father was more reasonable, but he wasn't around as often as any of them would like. When he was, though, he'd always try to tell them not to be unreasonable, and that one of them would end up hurt. They'd just call him a chicken, and then go right back to him with a broken wrist or a bad cut on the arm. It was like raising two children, but Kushina was only like that around Naruto. She was a lot more serious and impressive at work, and she would allow herself to let go when around her child, to relax and unwind a little.

For that, Minato let her get away with it, preparing band aids and bandages when necessary, telling them off gently before offering to take them both out to ramen.

The memory made Naruto sniff, ad he thought for a moment he was hallucinating the smell of it, but a quick look at the pot on the heater told him he wasn't.

"You're making ramen?!" Naruto exclaimed, as if it was a surprising, rare thing. It wasn't, but it excited him every time nonetheless. He beamed at her, wrapping his arms around her as Kushina laughed.

"Yeah, I came home early for it to be ready when you got back, but I guess I wasn't fast enough!" She said, wrapping his arms back around him. She gave him a squeeze and ruffled his hair before pulling away, smiling at him. "How was your day, kiddo? Your exam went well?"

Naruto gave her a sheepish smile, knowing she'd understand and he wouldn't have to say more. She merely sighed and tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear, moving it to Naruto's shoulder to turn him around.

"Go study for a little while, then! You'll get your ramen as a reward," she said.

"Aw, but I'm hungry!" He whined as she kept pushing him toward the stairs to his room, shaking her head despite her grin. Naruto pouted at her and fluttered his eyelashes, whining. He'd just spent hours working at school, and he hated having to do more work as soon as he got home.

"Out of the question," she said, using her fake big angry voice, and Naruto sighed, defeated. "But the ramen will be ready in about 10 minutes," she added with a wink. Naruto's pout turned into a grin, because 10 minutes was barely enough time to change out of his uniform, take a shower, and boot up his old computer. Some might think Kushina was a bad mother for encouraging her own son to skimp on studying, but she knew he was capable, and if math wasn't his thing, well. It wasn't his thing, and no amount of studying would change that.

"Okay, okay," Naruto said, as if it was a huge task and he was agreeing to study for real. "I'll go study right away," he said before going up the stairs two by two, throwing a last grin at her as he turned the corner.

"Good boy!" He heard her call from downstairs.

The first thing Naruto did when he reached his room was to flop face first onto his bed, snuggling into his pillow. He sighed, glad that the day was over, but knowing another was coming the very next day. It was always the same thing; school, go home, school, go home. Routine tired him, and he wanted to go out and do things differently, or do different things. Anything but repeating the same days over and over. When Sasuke was still at their school, Naruto had felt like every day was new and exciting. He never knew what would happen, never knew if they would get along and hang out on the roof, or if they'd get in a fight and end up in detention. Every day was unpredictable. But the bastard had passed the exam to another high school and omitted to tell him or Sakura. In middle school they'd been put into teams of three and assigned a teacher that would keep them in check, and help them out with homework. It allowed a much closer approach to education, and they'd learnt a lot of things with Kakashi-sensei, who had even followed them to high school and become a teacher there.

Naruto peeked from his pillow at his nightstand, where the picture of the four of them was gathering a bit of dust. He reached out to wipe it off, sighing. Sasuke was glaring at him in the picture, and he was glaring right back, but there was happiness in their eyes, the three of them. Sakura looked radiant between them, and Kakashi more exasperated than anything, but the picture still meant a lot to Naruto. He'd kept it all this time, hoping Sasuke would one day come back. Or call him, at least. He hadn't heard from him at all after he'd...confronted him behind the school on their last day.

It had been a bad fight, but Naruto had just wanted to understand why his best friend had lied and was abandoning him. Sasuke had always been stubborn and never gave an explanation that was enough for Naruto, so they'd beat on each other until they were both lying bleeding and unmoving on the pavement.

Apparently Sasuke had always wanted to go to Oto, a private school specifying in science and math. Naruto had tried to convince him otherwise, had tried to get him to stay. He didn't need to leave, didn't need to go to such a difficult school. There had been news reports in the past about the conditions of teaching at the school, about the suspicions that the headmaster was breaking more than one law, inside the school and in his own personal life. But Sasuke had insisted with a strong fist, and Naruto had been left in tears watching his best friend limp away, clutching his likely broken arm.

Naruto still blamed himself for getting angry, because...maybe if he'd stayed calmed, they could have exchanged emails, or phone numbers. Maybe Sasuke would have told him where he was moving so they could hang out once in a while. Instead he had nothing but Sasuke's stinging words that nowhere Sakura and Naruto would go was good enough for him.

"Dinner's ready~" Kushina sing-songed from the bottom of the stair case, snapping Naruto out of his reverie. Running his hands through his hair, he got up and made his way down, stomach grumbling again. Before reaching the kitchen he put on his best grin, putting aside the thoughts of Sasuke and the emptiness he felt at his absence.

•

"I don't wanna go," Naruto whined, nearly pawing at Sakura's desk and trying to look as pitiful as he possibly could. He had no interest to, and he would just be bored out of his mind during the entire ordeal.

"No whining, Naruto. It's payback for the math exam. Besides, you guys all need to learn what real math are," she grumbled, picking up papers from her desk and gathering them into a neat pile before sliding them into a folder.

"I'm just not going show up," Kiba nearly growled, sulking in his corner, chair leaning back on two legs. Naruto watched him, tempted to give him a little shove so he'd fall backwards, but remembered some kid had nearly had his head split open once, and held off.

"It's only a Mathletes competition," Sai said, looking like he didn't understand what the fuss was all about. Naruto rolled his eyes at him, shaking his head. It wouldn't just be a Mathletes competition, it would be a waste of time. He understood nothing of math, and he didn't want to. Sakura seemed dead set on dragging him to the regional Mathletes competition, however, and he knew he and Kiba would hold it against her forever.

He also knew that if they dared to standd her up, she would never let it go and would make every single day of school hell for them. Naruto dropped his head against his desk, sighing heavily.

"You mean a descent into hell?" Sakura gave Naruto a hard glare and he shut his mouth tightly, stopping himself from making the situation worse.

"You are all coming with me," she said decisively as she put the folder in her shoulder bag. "It'll teach you guys a good lesson, I think," she said, giving them both a dangerous smile that promised bruised faces if there were anymore complaints. Kiba gave Naruto a look that implored him to talk her out of it, but Naruto knew Sakura well enough to be certain there was no changing her mind on this. He shook his head, and Kiba mimed a tear running down his cheek with a finger. Naruto made a face at him before being smack in the head by a pile of papers.

"Anyways," Sakura said pointedly, giving him another glare. Naruto thought it was unfair that he was always the one getting hit. Kiba had started it, really! Why did his head have to hurt?! Either way, he brought his hands to shield it from any other incoming attacks, hissing a quick 'ouch', and shooting Kiba a glare, who was silently laughing at him.

"I'm just making you watch it; be glad I'm not making you participate," Sakura added, and Naruto had to admit she had a point. Participating would only end in pain, shame, and loss of dignity. Dignity sinking under zero, even.

"She's right," Sai said with that smile of his, and Naruto sighed despite wanting to choke him. She was, but telling a girl that was a rookie mistake. As expected Sakura smirked at them knowingly and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Of course I am," she said, before starting to leave the classroom, which had emptied entirely by now. "C'mon, Ino's waiting for us for lunch," she said, grinning. Naruto wondered if it was the misery in their faces that was making her so happy. Probably.

Hopefully, this entire thing would be over fast.

•

Naruto had barely just sat on one of the seats of the auditorium, and he was already bored. Dreadfully bored. He peeked at his right, and Kiba was already pretending to sleep, as Sai stared ahead of him, waiting for the show with a vague sort of excitement on his face. Naruto leaned over to see what Sakura was up to, and when he saw that she was turned away, discussing something with Neji (who had insisted to come voluntarily and for ifun/i, apparently. Naruto made note that he and Neji had in no way a similar definition of 'fun'), he cackled and pulled his DS from his bag. Hopefully he'd be able to play through the Mathletes, or at least for a part of them.

Of course, that might have been the case if he'd picked a game that didn't require tapping the screen repeatedly, and if he didn't always get incredibly into it and made a lot of unnecessary noise. Sakura turned to him at once, hissing at him.

"Naruto, give me that right now!" She said, holding out her hand over Sai and Kiba's seats. He glared at her and moved his hands further away, despite her not being able to reach him from her seat.

"No!" He said, sticking her tongue out at her. He was being forced to something he didn't want whatsoever, and he wouldn't be subjected to more torture than necessary. Just being here in this room full of math lovers was making the hair on the back of his neck raise. Especially the guy two rows down, nose deep in a book about...Quantum something or other. He was nearly slobbering all over it. Sakura would in no way succeed in taking away his game console.

She wouldn't need to, though, because as she opened her mouth to say something, clapping started all around them (waking Kiba up with a start, who in his effort to fake sleep had apparently slept for real), and she straightened in her seat to join in with a last warning look in his direction. iThis is going to hurt later/i the look said, but Naruto just smirked at her and glanced at the stage briefly to see what was going on.

He was so surprised that he nearly dropped the DS, effectively losing his stylus. But he didn't care, because the team that had just entered the stage was lead by none other than Sasuke Uchiha.


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto was in a daze for the remaining time of the event, his eyes fixed on Sasuke, not even noticing the red head girl that kept glancing at Sasuke with blushing cheeks whenever she gave correct answers yet jabbed the boy drinking from a straw sitting next to her. The other, bigger guy spent the competition smiling at a bird sitting on the window sill of a high, round window. But Naruto's eyes didn't move from Sasuke, watching his every movement, the way his lips curved up slightly in satisfaction whenever he won his team a point. He was good, and he was smart, and he looked a little older but he was still the same Sasuke that Naruto had known. The temptation to get up and get on stage to see him was difficult to resist, but there was an odd twist to his stomach that kept him from doing anything. He felt a little sick, a little sweaty and definitely uncomfortable. This was the last place he'd expected to see Sasuke, but he was realising it was stupid. Of course he would be here; it was a regional competition, and Sasuke was enrolled in a school that was specifically for science and math.

It was still a crazy coincidence, and if he hadn't known better he would have assumed Sakura had planned this. But a quick glance told him that she hadn't, as she was tense in her seat, keeping her gaze everywhere else but at Sasuke. He wanted to reach out for her arm, knowing that she missed Sasuke just as badly as him, but she was still two seats away.

Swallowing, Naruto looked back at Sasuke and silently begged him to look his way, to see him there and smile at him or nod at him or anything to acknowledge him.

But Sasuke didn't. Naruto's heart clenched as he watched him move, remembering his habits and how they'd mocked each other for the little things they did. Sasuke would always try to cover up his smiles by a more arrogant smirk, and would cross his fingers while leaning on his elbows to hide his mouth behind them. The way his hair had to be always right, and how he'd yell if Naruto dared messing it up. It was as spiky in the back as usual, the bangs falling neatly around his face as always.

Naruto's heart was beating too fast in his chest, and suddenly he wanted to leave the room, to get away and get some air. His hands clutched the armrests of his seat before he stood, excusing himself as he pushed past Kiba, Sai, and Sakura, who gave him a worried glance. He smiled to reassure her, but it was wiped out when Neji glared at him in annoyance for hiding his view. He headed for the top doors, jogging up the stairs and wiping his too moist hands on his jeans. Jeans, why was he wearing jeans? It was way too hot for that. He slipped out the door quietly, closing it slowly not to bother anyone before letting out a long shuddery breath.

He had to do something about this. He had to find a way to see Sasuke and speak to him. He didn't know how long he'd stayed in there, or how long Mathletes are supposed to last, but he'd wait for Sasuke no matter what. He felt like a girl about to ask her crush out on a date, his heart hammering in his chest and his cheeks flushed. He hadn't seen him in so long, and...he'd missed him. Though, of course, the first thing he'd do wouldn't involve him saying that at all, and rather involve his fist getting intimate with Sasuke's face.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto made his way down a set of stairs to try and find the door the contestants had entered from. He turned around the place for a few minutes before finding it, peeking into the small window only to see Sasuke from much closer, before jerking away. He wanted to...yell at him, pull him into a hug, punch him over and over, ask him to hang out, ask him why...so many things at once were going through his mind. What if Sasuke didn't want to see him? What if he told him to go away? He hadn't contacted him or Sakura in years, after all, and there had to be some kind of reason for that. Maybe he wasn't allowed to, or maybe he was too busy (which was ridiculous to Naruto; you could never be too busy for your best friends).

He leaned against the wall next to the door, sliding down it onto the ground, running his hands through his hair. If he wanted to speak to Sasuke, he had to calm down first. He focused on his breathing, trying to keep it regular and slow. It help, as it also kept his mind off of Sasuke.

Idly, he wondered how much longer he'd have to wait. He was sure it would be nothing compared to the 3 years he'd spent hoping it was Sasuke calling him, hoping it was Sasuke ringing his doorbell.

Twenty minutes later, and it really wasn't. How had he survived 3 years, again? Knowing Sasuke was right behind that door was torture, and as he stood to stretch his legs a little, nervous and anxious, the door opened suddenly. Naruto yelped and fell against a trash can, taking it down with him. Covered in trash, he looked up to see Sasuke, looking down at him like he was a piece of garbage. Naruto couldn't blame him, really, since he iwas/i lying in the middle of it.

"H-Hey," he said, with a small smile. Sasuke's scowl deepened, and with a sniff he turned away, stepping off into another hall. The red haired girl nearly ran after him, hanging off into his arm. He heard her squeal his name vaguely, but every other brain function had shut down.

Maybe he was too covered in garbage for Sasuke to recognize him. That had to be it. It was the only explanation. It was enough to snap him out of his shock, throwing various papers and wrappings off from himself and standing, hurrying along the same hall as the auditorium started to empty of visitors.

"Sasuke!" He called, even if the boy was a lot further down the hall. His voice was loud enough, he knew. Sasuke didn't turn around, but the tall big guy did, stopping and putting his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. He said something to Sasuke that Naruto didn't hear as he ran up to them, his heart still hammering in his chest but for an entirely different reason, the anxiety at the pit of his stomach a lot stronger and harsher this time around.

"Where are you going? Can we...talk?" He asked, a little nervously. Sasuke glanced at him, gaze empty of any reaction or emotion. The girl glared at Naruto and took a step forward, as if to protect Sasuke from him. She looked like a cat protecting her food, nearly hissing at Naruto when he took another step forward.

"Do you know this moron, Sasuke?" The boy with the cup asked. Naruto opened his mouth to reply that yes, he did, that they were best friends, and could they please have a moment, but he didn't get a chance to.

"No," Sasuke said flatly, turning away again and walking into a class room, his troupe following him and closing the doors behind them. Naruto caught a glimpse of the girl smirking smugly at him, her arm hooked with Sasuke's again. His mouth opened and closed a few times, and he was about to reach for the door and punch Sasuke in the nose when an arm slid over his shoulder.

"There you are! We were looking for you, stupid! Sakura's worried about you," Kiba said, pulling him back the other way, back toward the auditorium where Sakura was likely waiting for him to show his face to hit him for disappearing on them. Naruto glanced back at the door one, but he had to go back to his friends for now. He knew that. There was another way to get Sasuke to...remember him. Sasuke couldn't possibly have forgotten. Maybe he didn't want anyone to know he'd had friends before, or know what school he'd gone to. Maybe he was just an ass and was serious when he'd said he wasn't interested in seeing either of them again, that time behind the school. Naruto's heart clenched and he decided to answer Kiba so he wouldn't worry further.

"Haha, sorry, I was looking for a bathroom," Naruto said, chuckling. He turned away from the door, moving away from Kiba's arm as they walked.

"For over half an hour?! How dumb can you be, there's a sign right outside the door!" Kiba laughed, and Naruto awkwardly shrugged. His mind was reeling. That other way he'd thought of just moments before would require a lot of work and effort, but he was confident that he could do it. Plus, it would make Sakura happy in more ways than one.

Shoving his hands in his pockets as he neared Sakura, Sai and Neji, he took a deep breath, ready to make an announcement. Defeating Sasuke was bound to get his attention, right?

"I'm going to participate in the next Mathletes, and I'm going to win," he said with a lopsided grin.

•

A few months later, Naruto was spending every minute of his free time studying his math book, redoing homework and asking Sakura for new problems to solve. She was glad to help him, as she understood that his interest went beyond passing his math class, and had a lot more to do with Sasuke than anything else. Naruto was thankful that she never brought that up around Sai, Kiba, Ino or Neji, because he wasn't sure he wanted to hear their mockeries. The one time Naruto had brought Sasuke up with Kiba, he'd cracked up and asked him if 'he was gay for him or something'.

That had promptly shut Naruto up, and he'd decided he'd keep his Sasuke-thoughts to himself from then on. Sasuke had been his first true friend, the first one to see past his differences. Of course, they weren't always the best of friends (actually, it had been hate at first sight), and in fact surprised quite a lot of people in how they constantly hung out despite seemingly loathing each other. It was an odd thing that Naruto himself had never quite understood, but despite the arguments, the fights and the competitions, being with Sasuke was fun. It was enjoyable, it was distracting ad it was different every single time. Not a single minute spent with Sasuke was like the other. Even if some of their arguments were nothing more than throwing 'Bastard!' and 'Idiot!' back at each other, it never ifelt/i like routine, never felt like the same day was repeated over and over.

Not that his current friends weren't fun. It was just different. Sasuke brought him something he wasn't even aware he'd missed, and now that he was gone its absence was even heavier, weighted more on his heart and his shoulders.

Which is why he was working so hard on something he usually hated. Doing so seemed like the only way to reach Sasuke, and if he had to spend his every waking hour reading math books to get his attention, then he would.

The next Mathlete competition that involved Sasuke's team was the very next day, and Naruto was feeling anxious. What if they didn't win and Sasuke just laughed at him and walked off? What if he did win but it made Sasuke angry and he ignored him even more?

Actually, there was the easy solution of punching him in the gut for that. It would be easier this time as he'd expect it a little more than the first time they'd met again. Which felt like it had happened years ago, and yet barely the day before in truth. It was like Naruto's brain wasn't sure if he wanted to forget the details, or remember them intensely.

With his thoughts so jumbled and his heart in such a state, it was making studying math all the more difficult to Naruto. His mind kept wandering off to other thoughts, to his worries about whether or not it would work. Sasuke couldn't ignore him forever, but it still made something in his gut twist painfully at the thought. He had no idea what he'd done to Sasuke for him to feel Naruto deserved to be ignored.

It was nearly three in the morning, but Naruto was wide awake. Eyes looking from his exercise book to the guide sheets Sakura had made, he tried his best to refocus on the current problem. He was almost done, just one more, and he'd go to bed. Naruto wasn't realising he'd just spent an hour and a half on a single problem that should only have taken him about 20 minutes, and that he was much better off going to bed now and waking up early to cram a few problems in before school. The competition itself wasn't until after the school day, either way. He'd have more time then as well.

When a warm hand settled on his shoulder, Naruto shrieked and turned around, crossing his arms up above his head as self-defense. His father laughed at him, pushing his arms down.

"It's just me, Naruto," he said, smiling brightly.

"Dad!" Naruto said loudly, grinning wide and wrapping his arms around the taller man's waist. He'd been gone for the past few weeks on a business trip, and Naruto was relieved to see him back home safely. Minato chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair, peering over him at the papers on his son's desk.

"Still with the math? What's gotten into you, did Sakura beat you up again?" He asked as Naruto let him go, peering over his shoulder.

He hadn't specified just why he'd been doing this, a little embarrassed that Sasuke was the one making him iwant/i to understand math. Deep down he knew there was something odd with the fact that another boy made him want to go as far as spend all of his free time buried in manuals, so he'd just gave another excuse.

"Ah, no," Naruto said, quickly closing his books and putting them aside. "I just need to work harder to get better grades," he said, giving his father a smile.

Minato raised skeptical eyebrows and put a hand on his hip.

"Until three in the morning? When you usually don't care as long as you pass?" He asked, clearly not believing a word of it.

Minato was making Naruto nervous, who looked away and shrugged. Naruto had to think of some excuse quickly. It wasn't that he wanted to hide it from his parents, just that... No one but Sakura really knew the true motivation behind all of his work. He felt stupid about it, sometimes, especially in front of his parents, who he admired immensely. They knew of Sasuke, and they knew how down he'd been about it. It had taken Naruto a while to readjust without Sasuke there, and it was in great part thanks to them that he'd managed so fast.

"Is it about a girl? Did Sakura finally agree to go on a date with you if you beat her at the next exam?" Minato grinned mischievously at Naruto, teasing him and enjoying it. It was even more enjoyable that Naruto's cheeks were easy to redden, and that he sometimes squeaked and stuttered, or sometimes even flailed his arms as if he was drowning in air. He did all of these things at once this time, which told the boy's father that he wasn't far off the mark. It was about someone else, that was sure; not about grades or passing a class, but about impressing someone else.

"I -- It's just -- You -- " Naruto kept stammering, trying to say too many things at once. Minato sat on his bed, laughing softly at his reaction.

"Alright, alright," he said, waving a hand. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," he added.

Naruto relaxed some, sighing slowly. Once he and Sasuke were friends again, he'd tell them for sure. But if he explained now and failed, he wouldn't know how to deal with himself. He gave his father a small shy smile in thanks, and just as Naruto got up to sit next to him, there was a flash of red.

"Minato, you're home!" Kushina nearly squealed, having already tackled him into the bed. She gave him a big kiss on the lips (making Naruto roll his eyes, but he was used to seeing his parents' affections), before pulling away and pinching his cheek. "And you didn't tell ime/i," she added, voice a tone lower, jokingly threatening.

"Why would I do that? You're a horrible wench I'm trying to escape from!" Minato responded, and Naruto chuckled at the dark look that crossed Kushina's face. Before she could attack, though, she was flipped over and a wave of tickles made her squirm and shriek on Naruto's bed.

"My last trip had on goal, and that was to find your weak point!" He added, cackling as she laughed and laughed underneath him, and when Minato glanced behind him and winked at Naruto, he joined them on the bed and attacked his mother's feet, which he knew to be even more ticklish. After a few more moments of shrieking, struggling and tickling, the two stopped torturing Kushina. She was nearly crying from laughter, and with a frustrated sound punched Minato's arm.

"You could give your wife a nicer welcome than that," she said, sulkily.

"Hm, you're right," Minato said, voice lowering as he leaned in, smirking seductively.

"Hey, hey! If you're going to do that, do so in your room, please," Naruto said, making a face and trying to shove Minato off the bed as he laughed at him. He loved his parents, but not enough to let them do...ithat/i on his bed, nor want to know anything about it whatsoever.

"I've got to get to bed, anyways," he said, glancing at the clock and seeing it was now almost half past. It made him smile that he was the one telling his parents he had to go to bed, and not the other way around. They both agreed, getting up from Naruto's bed and each kissing his cheek before leaving the room. As Naruto settled under the covers and Kushina switched off his light, she threw him a last wink.

"Good luck tomorrow," she whispered, closing the door behind her.

Naruto was already too far gone to have heard her, but a small smile fleeted across his face.

•

The next morning, Naruto was surprisingly in a good mood. He didn't feel stressed at all, and in fact felt rather confident. Sakura and Sai had asked him questions and given him a couple of seconds to reply to see if he did well when pressured, and he'd done well enough. He still wasn't the best, but he'd understood a lot more of the concepts in the past months than he had in his entire life. Meanwhile Kiba had been busy sulking at him. They hadn't had much time to hang out lately, as Naruto had really wanted to study as often as possible.

"So, will my buddy Naruto be back after this, or is he forever lost to mathematics?" He drawled, leaning his chair back on two legs and stretching his arms behind him. Naruto was still scribbling equations on a piece of paper, solving them as quickly as he could, barely paying attention to his friend.

"Maybe," he said distractedly, frowning down at his paper, confused by the formula he'd just scribbled. Was that an 'x' or a 'y'? It kind of looked like a nine if he tilted his head slightly. A kick to his desk jerked him out of his focus, lifting his head to look at Kiba quizzically.

"What? I'm busy!" He said, going right back to his paper. Kiba watched him in silence for a few seconds, glancing at Sai and Sakura to make sure they were busy with Neji and their own studying before speaking. He didn't want to piss Naruto off too much. Yet.

"You're doing this for Sasuke, aren't you?" He asked, smirking as he brought his chair back down, grabbing a pair of scissors to start scratching onto the surface of the desk. Naruto didn't respond, but his entire face turned slightly red, even the back of his neck. He scribbled more furiously on his paper, trying his best to ignore Kiba and his taunting, teasing, mocking, whatever it was. But the bastard insisted, teasing him again.

"I was right, you iare/i gay for him," he said, eyes almost twinkling with the pleasure of seeing Naruto's reaction to that comment. Who, as per usual, nearly jumped out of his chair, his pencil falling from his hand.

"N-No! I'm not!" He said, too loudly to be casual. "I'm not at all, he's just my best friend!" He added quickly, stammering slightly, flustered and waving his hands around, unsure what to do with them. He didn't want to seem suspicious, and maybe if he put his hands here or there, it would make Kiba more certain of what he was saying. Which he didn't want, because it wasn't true. At all. He just missed Sasuke, is all. Sasuke made every day of his life better, that didn't mean he was gay for him.

Right?

With a laugh, Kiba threw the chip of wood he'd cut out of the desk at Naruto's head, shaking his own.

"You're a lost cause," he sighed, before getting up. "And I'm starved, so I'm going to grab some juicy steak," he said, waving him off, leaving Naruto to his thoughts and his math. Sai and Sakura were now arguing with Neji over some theory or other that was way beyond Naruto's mental capacities in the first place, so Naruto looked back down at his equation. But Kiba's teasing had distracted him, and now he'd forgotten what step was next, or even what the meaning of his previous scribbles. Now, his mind was filled with images of Sasuke smiling at him and holding out his hand to help him up. Of Sasuke handing him some of his lunch, looking like he was hating that he had to do it. And of that time on the swings where Naruto had convinced Sasuke to let go and jump off in mid-air. That had been a fun day, except for the few seconds after the jump when Sasuke tried to choke him because he'd injured his ankle and Naruto had sworn he wouldn't get hurt. They'd scuffled until they'd both been too exhausted to move, and then they'd shared a pack of pocky on the grass near the riverside.

He smiled a little, feeling warm at the surge of memories. The fact that days like that might happen again soon only made his smile widen. He was definitely not gay, though. Even though his first kiss had been (accidentally!) with Sasuke, it meant nothing at all.

It's not like he remembered Sasuke had tasted slightly of salmon onigiri or anything, really.

•

They were a few minutes away from the start of the competition. Naruto was a lot calmer than he'd expected to be, somehow. The four of them were waiting to be called onto the stage, behind the door. They weren't allowed to work on anything now, despite Naruto's vibrant insisting that he needed to (even going as far as claiming that he was mentally challenged and had a written permission that he'd lost). Sakura seemed to be the most nervous out of all them, despite being the one with the best grades. She was the best at retaining information effectively, and could name formulas like nobody's business.

"Hey," Naruto said as he slid behind her while she got on tip toes and tried to peer into the small window of the door. She jumped slightly, muffling a squeak before glaring at him and hitting him on the arm.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" She said, disapproving, before frowning and noticing a speck of dust on Naruto's shirt. She busied herself to brushing it off, and before she could drop her hand entirely, Naruto grabbed her wrist to get her full attention. She looked up at him, confused, until he smiled brightly down at her.

"It'll be fine," he said, shifting his hand to squeeze hers. She smiled back at him, squeezing back.

"I know," she sighed, wrapping his arms around him, making Naruto blush. She rarely ever hugged him (in fact, Naruto could count the number of times she had on one hand), and it made him feel flustered every time. Maybe from the rush of adrenaline reminding him that the very hands on his back had once beaten into his stomach repeatedly and had learnt the anatomy of his face by heart through violently impacting on it.

Sakura brushed his hair after pulling away, frowning again.

"You really couldn't make an effort for today? You look like a slob!" She said, before throwing an obviously meant to imply "At least they have some common sense!" look at both Sai and Neji. Sai was standing awkwardly in a corner, observing them both quietly and looking stuck up in his smooth pants and his open blazer. Neji, on the other hand, was wearing a simple button-up shirt that he'd rolled the sleeves of, and his jeans were nice and clean. Naruto looked down at himself sheepishly; old battered band t-shirt and jeans that looked 10 years old but that he'd paid 10 times more than regular pants for the look. He'd actually thought they'd receive some kind of team t-shirt, and since they would be sat at a table had assumed the pants wouldn't matter.

"I thought this was a Mathlete competition, not a fashion show?" He said, blinking as if he'd just heard some unexpected news. She rolled her eyes at him and tugged his shirt down to straighten it some in the hopes that it would look better and fancier. She was wearing a nice flowery top that opened in a pleasant 'V' shape down her chest, and her skirt was just above the knee. Now ithat/i seemed a little inappropriate. Wasn't she worried about all the nerds ogling her?

"Stop ogling," she snapped at him, tapping his (reddening) cheek in a light mock-slap. "And stop being an idiot, or I'm taking you out of the team," she said, smirking at him. That had an immediate effect on him and he straightened up, standing upright and with his hands firmly at his sides.

"Yes captain!" He said loudly and with a foolish grin. She tried to give him a stern look, but her lips were curling up slightly.

Naruto felt good about this. Sakura was there, and he'd worked hard these past few weeks. It had to work; they would win, Sasuke would recognize him and say he'd been waiting for him and would finally come back to their school, and they'd go to college together and graduate together, and maybe move in together too.

...Okay, so maybe he was getting slightly carried away. Just acknowledgement would be more than enough for now, and the whole coming back thing could be done later. Slowly. Sasuke wouldn't agree to anything if rushed into it, he'd have to be slowly eased into the idea.

Lost in thought again, Naruto missed their call to walk onto the stage, and it was Neji's firm tug at his arm that snapped him out of his thoughts. Neji tugged him so sharply, though, that he missed a step and almost sprawled all over the stage. Laughter mixed into the applause around them and Naruto chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head before doing the customary bow to the crowd, then to their opposing team.

He hadn't noticed Sasuke standing right in front of him, staring at him blankly as if he was just another piece of wall. It was so weird to see anyone with that kind of expression that Naruto wondered if he truly didn't care, or was merely trying to look like he didn't. When they straightened again, he gave Sasuke a curt nod before smirking, hoping Sasuke would get the hint that there was no way Sasuke would get away with his little act this time.

To his surprise, Sasuke smirked back and nodded as well.

It unsettled him enough that he stumbled when they were told to get to their seats, frowning slightly. Why was he already paying attention again? Was that purposeful? He heard a light giggle and looked up to see the red head latched onto Sasuke's arm again, watching him, as if taunting him.

As if she knew Sasuke was important to him, and that her behavior would annoy him.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, and he kept his eyes on her, making sure her hand didn't go anywhere else than Sasuke's arm. When she pulled away to press her buzzer, he was confused, until he looked around and realised the first question had already been asked. He glanced around the stage, noticing the man giving them the problems was also writing them on a blackboard. The audience was quiet, which Naruto imagined saved him from Sakura's frustration that he hadn't been paying attention. A quick glance at Sasuke's table told him the same people from last time were still there. The guy with bright hair and his cup, the tall big one staring out the window, the clingy red head and, of course, Sasuke himself. When his eyes fell on him, Naruto had trouble looking away. He looked focus, eyes on the man giving the problems, his hands ready to hit his buzzer. He was tense, but there was still a lot of grace to his movements. He'd always had this vibe, this... ithing/i he gave off. Naruto wasn't sure what it was, but it was in his entire way of being. It's what had attracted Naruto to him in the first place. He moved smoothly, without hesitating, like he knew exactly where he was going. He said only what was necessary, and hid all unnecessary emotion. It had been nice, to befriend him and slowly see more and more smiles from him, more and more laughter. He seemed to have reverted back to how he'd been before meeting Naruto now, his face expressionless and blank.

Naruto wanted to see him smile and hear him laugh again. Whatever that school was, it wasn't doing Sasuke any good, unlike he had claimed it would when he'd left.

Feeling a sharp jab to his side, Naruto turned to see Sakura making big angry eyes at him as Sai solved the next problem, giving them their first point.

iFocus/i she mouthed at him, before he nodded and turned back to face their opponents.

A voice rose above the crowd before the man could dictate the next problem, and Naruto recognized it instantly.

"Oi, Naruto! We didn't let you stay up until three in the morning for nothing, kiddo!" Kushina called from her seat, beaming next to Minato. His father smiled and winked at him, and Naruto nodded at them both before grinning wide. They'd figured out what was going on, somehow; maybe they'd found the flyer for the competition lying around somewhere, or maybe they'd spoken to Sakura or her parents.

Either way, their presence encouraged Naruto. They were there to see him, and he had to make them proud. Show them that the work he'd been doing wasn't entirely useless. The man told Kushina to please remain sitting in her seat and keep quiet, which Naruto saw she did only because Minato put his hand on her arm and gave her a look.

"An easy one for this round," the man then continued, keeping an eye on Kushina. "What is the square root of 144?"

"Twelve!" Naruto shouted as soon as the man had finished speaking, nearly interrupting him. A heavy silence fell into the room and Naruto looked around, confused as to why the mood had suddenly dropped and become so awkward.

The man looked at Naruto like he was a moron, turning to the other team.

"Your turn, thanks to the other team's idiocy," he said. Naruto stood, his chair making a loud sound against the ground. This wasn't fair at all! He'd said he answer, and he'd gotten it right.

"Hey, wait, why aren't we getting the point?!" He asked, offended and certain that he was in the right. There were mumbles from the crowd, and Naruto thought he heard his father bring his palm to his face with a sigh. When the man turned toward Naruto again, he looked at him condescendingly before pointing at the red button right in front of Naruto.

"This is called a buzzer. When you believe you have the right answer, you press it for the right to speak," he explained, not bothering being polite. "When you forget, you lose your chance," he said, smirking as Naruto slid back into his chair, defeated. Well, that was fun. Now everyone in the room thought he was an idiot. Including Sasuke, who was smirking at him. Naruto wanted to wipe it off his face so bad, wanted to make him regret smirking like that at him. He'd gotten excited, and that was all! He didn't think he deserved to be penalized for it. He sulkily straightened up into his seat, just in time for Sakura to kick him under the table as Neji gave a correct answer. They were tied now, and Naruto wasn't helping at all. He kept his mind on his parents, on Sasuke, on Sakura right next to him to remember not to give up and not let himself be defeated.

With a deep breath, he stood up straight, keeping his hands near the buzzer in case her was ever ready to give an answer. He kept the remaining time of the competition in that position, tense but ready. He attempted answering a couple of times, but made small mistakes in his formulas or mental calculations. Each false answer brought a wider smirk to Sasuke's lips, as well as his team (except for the big one, that was smiling at the birds flying by the window). They sat there, looking relaxed and as calm as if they were playing a matching game, and it was driving Naruto crazy. There were only two problems left and they were leading. He could tell Neji and Sakura were growing increasingly frustrated. Sasuke's team was simply faster, somehow managed to hit the buzzer before either of them could. Sai had won them another point, but it hadn't been enough for them to be in the lead.

Things were stretching on, and Naruto knew that it was a lost cause.


	3. Chapter 3

Finally, it was the last problem of the last round. It seemed like the they'd been going for an eternity. Whatever happened, it was fact that Sasuke's team would win, and Naruto wondered why they even bothered asking that last question.

It was a tough one, though, that left both the teams staring at the board trying to solve it while the man counted the seconds and waited. They had limited time, but as much as Naruto wracked his brain he couldn't figure it out. It looked familiar, though, like something he'd seen briefly in one of the various books he'd read recently. The memory was vague, though, and every time he tried to get a clearer idea of what he'd seen or where, he'd lose track of what he'd been looking for in the first place. Frustrated, he tugged on a strand of his hair, staring at the equation. There had to be a solution. Unless it was one of those unsolvable ones, but it somehow didn't feel right to Naruto. He'd seen that problem before, and there was something about applying a formula to it, something...He startled as Sakura hit the buzzer, and he looked at her like she was crazy. Had she already figured it out? She looked unsure, her hand shaking slightly. It seemed a little ridiculous since they were losing anyways, but she was a girl, maybe this sort of thing got to them more easily. He glanced back at the board, frowning at it.

"There is -- " Sakura started, but Naruto stood, stopping her.

"Wait," he said, stepping up to the board and grabbing the chalk from the man's fingers.

Yes, something about applying a formula, but reversing it first? Something like that. Something that iwasn't/i in the book, but that he'd amusedly noted could work to solve it. The chalk moved quickly against the board as he wrote down the proper steps, the proper numbers, symbols and formulas. This was a lot more fun than he'd thought. It was like solving a crime; he had some of the variables, but the crucial elements were missing, and it was his job to find them, with the help of a few basic hints. He scribbled quickly and in silence as the audience watched. Neji kept shooting Sakura looks so she would stop Naruto and make him get back in his seat, but she was fascinated by the process he was using. She would never have thought of it that way.

On Sasuke's side, they were all watching the development of Naruto's steps warily, while Sasuke himself watched with a raised eyebrow.

As he finished, Naruto circled the proper answer on the board, giving the board a last once over before smirking at the man and handing him his chalk back.

"There, that's how you solve that kind of problem," he said, grinning and returning to his seat, right as the bell announced the end of the competition.

The room burst into applause, and Naruto beamed, though the applause wasn't all for him. His parents, though, were standing tall and clapping louder than anyone else in the room. He grinned, waving at them as Sakura squeezed his hand under the table and smiled at him softly.

Naruto forgot at that instant that Sasuke was across the room, watching him. He failed to notice that the smirk briefly turned into a soft smile, before his expression returned as blank as it had been in the beginning.

•

Naruto hadn't won, but his disappointment only lasted a few brief seconds. He'd talk to Sasuke anyways, he had to. There was absolutely no way he'd leave the building without having spoken to him, and as soon as they were ushered off stage, Naruto asked one of the organizers which classroom had been reserved for Sasuke's team. He got directions and nearly ran there, hoping they wouldn't already be gone by the time he'd reach the room.

Naruto realised how ridiculous that was when he saw the open door closing behind them; it had barely taken him three seconds to jump down to the stage, ten more to ask for directions, and less than fifteen to get there. But he was stressed, anxious, and eager. He wanted to speak to Sasuke, and wouldn't forgive himself if he somehow missed his chance. He wasn't sure he'd get another one, unless he showed up to Sasuke's school daily and somehow managed not to get thrown out.

Just as the door clicked closed, Naruto grabbed the handle and pulled it back open, slightly breathless.

"Sasuke!" He said, loudly, ignoring the looks he was getting from the boy's team. He was entirely focused on Sasuke, his best friend, the one he'd just worked so hard to impress. All he wanted was some direct acknowledgement, some spoken words, a smile or an apology. Anything more than that blank face or that insufferable smirk. There had been that nod earlier, but Naruto was beginning to suspect Sasuke had only done so to unsettle him. It had worked, too.

Sasuke blinked at him and frowned, opening his mouth to likely tell him to get out, leave him alone, or ask him who he was. Naruto didn't give him a chance to, though, as he took big steps to stand not even an arm's length away from him.

"I need to talk to you!" He said, pointing his finger accusingly at him. There was a snort and Naruto glanced at the boy with the cup right as he rolled his eyes.

"In private," he added, shooting a glare at the boy and the red head girl. The taller boy was however not paying attention at all, sitting by the window, leaning his chin into his hand and staring at a squirrel eating a nut near a tree.

He turned to peer curiously at Naruto when he spoke, though, and stood, sighing.

"Come on, guys," he said, waving them out. "Let those two get it over with," he said as he left the room.

"There's no need to," Sasuke said, narrowing his eyes at Naruto, who jabbed his finger in his chest and insisted.

"Yes, there is! I haven't heard of you for three years, you could have been dead! That's not how you treat a best friend!" He said, frustrated. He was now less anxious and more angry about the entire ordeal. How could Sasuke have stayed silent for so long and then simply ignored him?

"We're not friends," Sasuke said flatly, and Naruto's finger turned into a fist grasping his shirt.

What are you talking about?! Have you hit your head?!" He said, his voice rising slightly.

"Don't talk to Sasuke like that!" The girl hissed at him, trying to pull Naruto away from Sasuke. The glare Sasuke shot her told Naruto that he could care less about her, and actually would rather she not get involved in this at all for the moment.

"Get out, Karin," he snarled. She gaped for a few moments, opening and closing her mouth indecisively before keeping it shut, lips tight.

"Fine," she grumbled, turning around to tug the other boy away by the arm. "You too, Suigetsu," she hissed. Within a few seconds they were both gone, the door closing behind them.

"And let go of me," he added to Naruto, grasping his wrist and wrenching it away from his shirt.

"You're not going to ignore me this time?" Naruto said, bitterly. He hoped Sasuke would explain, but that seemed terribly unlikely at the moment. As Naruto so well recalled from their last confrontation, Sasuke rarely felt he needed to explain or justify his actions, as crazy as they might seem.

Sasuke kept quiet, crossing his arms and glaring at Naruto. But he wasn't going to let whatever animosity Sasuke was feeling get to him; he iwould/i get through to him, somehow, someway. Any possible way he'd think of, he'd try.

"Okay, so you are ignoring me," Naruto said, leaning back against a desk as he thought of something he could say that would have a big enough impact that Sasuke would have no choice to react.

"What do you want?" He heard Sasuke say, sounding exasperated, before he could come up with anything. He nearly gaped at him, because that was kind of a stupid question.

"What do you think I want? I haven't seen of heard from you in...in three years! I have no idea where you live, what you're up to, if you're doing okay..." he trailed off, dropping his hands at his side and running a hand through his hair. He stepped away from the desk, pacing in front of Sasuke.

"And then I see you again and you ignore me. You say you don't even know me. We spent every single day of primary school together, you ass!"

Naruto stopped pacing then, looking directly at Sasuke to see if he could spot some reaction, some emotion that would clue him in as to what Sasuke was thinking.

"You can't say you've forgotten all about it," he sighed, almost under his breath. His expression softened, less angry now. Sasuke's own stayed as blank as it had been at first, his arms still crossed. Naruto wasn't even sure he was listening, but he kept going anyways.

"Remember how we used to fight all the time? Nobody knew why we even liked hanging out, since we'd always end up with a black eye or a bloody nose," he said, laughing softly.

They'd been through a lot of stuff, a lot of fights and anger, but all the fun they'd had made up for it. Naruto felt that it was their arguing that made them become close. Thanks to it, every argument they had over come had brought them a little closer, and by the end of primary school they had been entirely inseparable.

Naruto searched Sasuke's face again, desperate to find something. Why was he just standing there, looking at him like that? It was driving him nuts.

Sasuke opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. He scowled, and closed his mouth again.

"What?" Naruto asked, frowning. "You were going to say something," He said, taking a step closer, and getting irritated again.

"You're assuming I liked hanging out with you," Sasuke said then, making Naruto's anger spike. He saw white briefly, before he grabbed Sasuke by the collar and growled.

"You're a fucking asshole! There's no point in lying about that stuff, you were happy and it was obvious! I haven't seen you smile ionce/i in the past couple of hours! Are you going to claim you're happier where you are now? 'Cause that's obviously bullshit!"

"That's none of your damn business, you idiot! I live my life how I want to, and unfortunately for you, you're not part of it!" Sasuke answered, arms crossed tightly.

Naruto felt the familiar surge of adrenaline, the urge to clench his fist tight and aim it at Sasuke's face. It was so tempting, but if he did that now, they'd only get into a fist fight and not actually talk about things, which was essential for them at this point. They'd get nowhere otherwise.

"It's all in the past, Naruto," Sasuke added with a heavy sigh. "You need to learn to move on."

Sasuke made it sound so simple, so easy that Naruto wanted to punch him just for that. As if he could just move on, could just forget the first best friend he'd ever had. After years of being pushed aside, after years of being ignored, insulted and disliked, he'd found someone that treated him like an equal. Sasuke called him an idiot, sure, but that was just to tease him; it wasn't related to his race and was more like an affectionate nickname than anything else.

"If it was that easy, don't you think I would've done it?! Instead of thinking about you all the time, wondering where you were and what you were up to and if you missed me and Sakura and hanging out. Instead of looking at that picture we got taken on the first day of school before bed every single night and look at it again when I wake up every single day?!"

Naruto took a deep breath after that. He was slowly pouring everything he'd had on his chest about Sasuke, and it was slowly draining him to get next to no reaction. At least, none that he'd anticipated or wanted.

Sasuke looked mildly surprised for a very brief moment, and then looked at Naruto like he was the stupidest teenage boy on the planet, and for an instant Naruto felt like he was. Maybe it had all been a lie, after all. Maybe Sasuke had needed to pretend for a while that he truly had friends, and when that had been over and done with he'd just thrown them aside like old, unwanted toys.

"It's not my fault you're a moron," Sasuke said, huffing slightly. "If you can't move on, it's not my problem. You don't have a choice, either way," he added, firmly, as if it was true.

Naruto was quiet as he gathered his thoughts and tried to keep his heart from falling into pieces. Those past years had been difficult for him, as there were still times when he'd hear something exciting and hurriedly want to go and tell Sasuke, only to remember his best friend was no longer part of his life. Every time, it made him feel a pang of sadness, hurt and bitterness that wouldn't quite leave for the remainder of the day.

How could Sasuke say Naruto had no choice? He had every choice. If he didn't want to move on, if he wanted to keep Sasuke as a friend, he had the right to. It was in no way fair that Sasuke was forcing this...break up on him, without even talking it out with him. Because that fight they'd had behind the school had been far from talking. Naruto could still feel the fists against his chest, stomach and face. Could still feel Sasuke kicking him in the ribs, scratching at his arms and face. The words they'd exchanged had been hurt, angry and confused from Naruto, and just angry from Sasuke's part.

It was almost sick how Naruto remembered every single little detail, and still felt the same way when he thought about it. It was then that Naruto had realised all those songs, all those cheesy novels depicting the heartache of losing someone you love were true. Your heart really did hurt, really did feel like it was breaking.

He took a deep shuddery breath, unsure of what to say next. Where to start? He wanted to apologise, wanted to beg him to come back, wanted to compromise and share email addresses or phone numbers. He wanted to strike a deal to see one another every once in a while, wanted Sasuke to say he was sorry, wanted him to take it all back. He wanted to pull Sasuke close and wrap his arms tightly around him and forbid him to ever leave again.

"I...I can't forget about you, Sasuke. Or I already would have," he said, defeated. He snorted, amused, after he'd spoken. Maybe Kiba was right, that did sound pretty gay.

"You really are an idiot," Sasuke said, looking away and snorting as well. "You can say that all you want, but I've forgotten all about it. I don't need you in my life anymore," he said.

But he wasn't looking at him. Naruto frowned, taking another step closer.

"Look at me when you say that," he asked, having a hunch that it wasn't all truth. If Sasuke had something to say that he had convinced himself of, he could tell you to your face while looking at you straight in the eye. Something he seemed to avoid doing right now, so Naruto took another step closer, so close that Sasuke was backed up against a desk and leaning backwards slightly.

"Look at me when you say that," he repeated, insistent.

Sasuke turned his face slowly, scowling at him and giving off 'I Hate You, You're An Idiot' vibes. When he spoke it was clearly and he enunciated each word properly, not moving away from Naruto's proximity.

"I don't need you in my life anymore," he said, his voice steady and firm. But the way he blinked when he said it told Naruto something that someone else might not have picked up on.

"You're lying," he said, shocked at first, his face brightening slightly soon after. "You're lying!" He repeated, almost smiling now, lips curved up as if he didn't quite dare give a full smile, but wanted to.

"No, I'm not!" Sasuke replied loudly and angrily, uncrossing his arms to shove Naruto hard away from him. Stumbling back against a desk, Naruto blinked owlishly at him, gaping slightly.

"Will you ever get it?! I don't want you in my life anymore! It's over, I'm no longer a child and you just get in the way of my goals! I need to work, that's what I need to do, not run around climbing trees or whatever the hell else you do on your free time! I'm not a moron, I've got things I can do, bigger things than any of you, and I intend on achieving them!"

Sasuke was nearly panting, and Naruto was sure anyone still in the auditorium area would have heard that just now. He swallowed, the desk digging into his lower back uncomfortably. Sasuke had stepped closer and closer as he'd spat it all out, pushing Naruto up against the wooden furniture.

The only sound in the room was Sasuke's irregular breathing, the sound of vague voices and footsteps coming from out the door. Naruto lowered his gaze for a while, hands clenching on the edge of the desk. Sasuke really was a stuck up, shallow, full of himself pretentious bastard.

"You're a fucking bastard," Naruto nearly growled, not hesitating to speak his mind. "I've never met anyone as stubborn and pretentious as you!" He glared, shoving Sasuke's chest lightly.

"You're just too fucking scared to be close to people! If you let someone in, they'll hurt you, right? Isn't that what you think, you smartass? You're just a paranoid little fucker that would rather live his life lonely and bored than risk getting hurt!"

"You're a coward," Naruto added as an after thought, voice low and accusatory.

Suddenly he felt a hand fist in his collar and a body against his, shoving him hard against the desk, enough to temporarily knock the wind out of him. The desk screeched against the floor and knocked against the one behind it, sending the chair it belonged to on the ground.

Naruto was almost wheezing for air, and his eyes widened as Sasuke leaned in close, their lips not even an inch apart.

"I am inot/i a coward," Sasuke spat angrily, before crashing their mouths together. It was nothing like a kiss and more like a vicious, intimate way to hurt someone, teeth biting at Naruto's lips harshly as he stood frozen in place.

Was Sasuke kissing him, or just trying to disturb him? Or both at once? He'd never done much kissing in the first place, but he was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to taste blood. He was also pretty sure that he should be more disturbed by the fact that Sasuke was kissing him than the fact that he was doing so a little violently.

"Stop," he hissed through bites, bringing his hands to Sasuke's chest and shoving at him. They needed to talk, not fight, not make out or kiss or anything that could make things worse and more complicated and more confusing. It was all messed up enough already.

But Sasuke didn't stop, instead pressed closer, nudging Naruto's legs apart slightly so he could shove his knee there. He growled against Naruto's lips, his hand burying in his hair and tugging harshly.

"Ow -- Stop th -- " Naruto's complaints were stopped when Sasuke brought his knee higher up between his legs, teasing him.

Maybe stopping him was a bad idea, after all. It wasn't as if pleasure wasn't shooting through his nerves, sending sharp waves of 'yes, please continue' all over his body. It was Sasuke, and despite the nails digging into his scalp and the teeth sinking into his lips, he found he wouldn't have it any other way.

Naruto groaned when Sasuke next moved his knee, brushing it up against his groin while sucking on a bloody spot of the other's lips. Sasuke was encouraged, growling low in his throat again and bringing a hand to the back of Naruto's thigh, jerking it toward him to lift him up on the desk. Naruto let him, now a few inches higher than Sasuke. Their lips had separated somewhere in the movement and Naruto tugged on the back of Sasuke's hair to tilt his head up, claiming them again. He kissed him sloppily, having little to no experience (if tentatively making out with your hand was any experience), but Sasuke didn't seem to mind. His hands had both fallen on each of Naruto's thighs, one still and the other stroking lightly as they kissed, harsh and demanding.

Naruto let out a soft sound when Sasuke's hand snuck under his shirt, brushing over his stomach. He brought both of his hands into Sasuke's hair, kissing him again and again, his lips already feeling sore and bruised but not caring whatsoever. Sasuke still tasted of onigiri, and maybe a little bit of tobacco. Figured he'd take up smoking. Naruto made a mental note to tell him off for that later on.

Nails raked lightly down his chest and he shivered, letting out a shuddery breath against Sasuke's lips. Naruto slid a hand to Sasuke's school uniform tie, tugging on it to get it undone. He pulled away briefly to get it over Sasuke's head, throwing it aside before Sasuke's lips moved to their next victim, Naruto's neck. It became hard for Naruto to focus with Sasuke biting and sucking at his skin, sending shivers of pleasure down his spine. His breathing was all out of whack, and his hands were shaking as he tried to undo the buttons to Sasuke's dress shirt.

"Get it off," he said, voice hoarse as he tilted his head to allow Sasuke more room to work with. When the response wasn't immediate, Naruto tugged on the collar impatiently, making a frustrated sound.

"Hurry up," he breathed, turning his face to bite at Sasuke's earlobe harshly.

"Don't rush me," Sasuke growled into Naruto's ear after letting out a low sound from the bite. A hand then came to help Naruto undo the buttons one by one. After getting half way down the hand returned to Naruto's thigh to steady him, as he'd started to lightly buck his hips off the desk, already wanting more. The hand that had been rubbing against one of his nipples moved to the button of his jeans and undid it in one swift movement.

There was something frantic about their movements, about the way they grabbed at each other, kissed each other and took off each other's clothes. Something desperate about the way they spoke and the way their eyes looked.

Naruto's hands were making a mess of Sasuke's hair, running through it over and over, tugging and pulling, tangling into it. He seemingly couldn't get enough of Sasuke, tugging his head back up so he could kiss him on the lips, tongue running over a previous bite. As Sasuke lowered the zipper of Naruto's pants, Naruto parted his lips and slid his arms around the other's neck, pulling him close against the desk and against him, wanting to feel his warmth.

"Touch me," he nearly moaned when Sasuke's hand simply hovered over his opened pants, arching up for contact.

Right as Sasuke's hand slipped past the elastic band of his underwear, making Naruto's breath hitched, the door slammed open and they both jerked away. Naruto nearly fell off the desk while Sasuke quickly tried to readjust his hair, but his half-open shirt was telling. As were Naruto's open pants.

There was a buzz of confused mumbles as Naruto slowly regained his balance on the desk, clearing his throat. Sasuke's team, his parents, and his own team were at the door, some gaping, one jealous, some looking away awkwardly, and some beaming with pride.

Sasuke's blank mask had resurfaced, while Naruto blushed bright red as he zipped his pants up and buttoned them again.

"Uh..." He started, before his mother stepped in to slide an arm over his shoulder.

"There you are, kiddo! We'd all been looking all over for you! Then we saw those crazy guys," she said, pointing a thumb back at Sasuke's team, "Arguing and eavesdropping," she explained.

Naruto glanced at the rest of the people at the door, all crammed into the doorway as they tried to peer in and get a better view. Sakura's hand was on her mouth but it was evident that she was hiding a smile. Sai looked as uninterested as ever, as did Neji, but Kiba looked like he'd just won a very, very big bet. Knowing him, Naruto figured he probably just had. There was no point in pretending they hadn't been doing anything. The way his legs were crossed, his bruised lips and his messy hair were bound to make things clear for even the densest person on the planet.

"Congrats on your competition," Minato said after clearing his throat and joining Kushina at Naruto's side. He grinned at him, ruffled his hair, and then turned to Sasuke.

"You must be Sasuke," he said, holding out his hand. "I'm Naruto's father. I assume we'll be seeing a lot more of you now?" He said with a bright, mischievous grin and a wink.

Naruto stammered, flustered, and tried to say something but it just came out as gibberish. Getting walked in on wasn't exactly pleasant, less so when it involved your parents and almost all of your friends. He was embarrassed and would likely stay so for the rest of his life.

Sasuke smacked him upside the head, though, and he snapped right out of it.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" He exclaimed, bringing his hands to his head. He heard Kiba and someone else (it was likely to be the guy with the cup) snicker, and he glared in their direction for good measure. Even his parents looked bemused, and Sakura had stopped hiding her smile.

"For being a moron," Sasuke said, picking up his tie.

"I think I like this guy!" Kiba said loudly, stepping into the room and smacking Naruto on the back. "I totally called you being gay for this guy, by the way," he added, loudly so if anyone had any doubts of what had been going on, they no longer did.

"I - I'm not!" Naruto squeaked, just as a girl shrieked at the door.

"He can't be! That would mean Sasuke-kun is gay too, and he's most definitely not!" The red head girl shoved Sakura out of her way, stomping off to stand in front of Sasuke, defensive. "Sasuke is imine/i," she snarled, and Naruto realised that girl was crazy and needed help.

"Karin," the big guy said from out of nowhere. He'd apparently made his way to them unnoticed, and brought a hand to her shoulder.

"Relax. If you truly cared for Sasuke, you would only wish for his happiness," he said, giving her a wide smile. She shrugged him off, growling in exasperation.

"He is not -- " She started again, before Sakura reached her and slapped her across the face.

"And who are you to know him so well?" She said, raising an eyebrow as Karin stared at her, wide-eyed and red-faced where Sakura's hand had struck her.

The guy with the cup stepped in soon enough, snickering as he did so.

"I'm not one to stop a girl fight, but honestly, proving Karin wrong is worth it," he said, before taking a deep breath.

"You're an incredibly dense bitch for not noticing that Sasuke has little to no interest in girls," he said, smiling slowly and showing a row of almost scarily pointed teeth.

"Is that even normal?" Naruto heard his mother whisper to Minato, who grabbed Naruto by the shoulder to pull him further away from the strange boy.

"Suigetsu," Sasuke said, threatening and his fists clenching. "This is none of your business, and if you want to stay on the team, you better shut the hell up. Right inow/i."

"Juugo, take them out," Sasuke added to the giant, nodding at the door. Sakura looked incredibly smug as Juugo pulled them both away, Karin looking into shock and Suigetsu looking amused.

"You're both gaylords!" He said, before laughing, followed by the loud sound of a straw sucking the last of a drink from a cup.

There was an awkward lull in the room after their departure, and before long Minato took it upon himself to break it.

"So," he started, clapping his hands together. "We have a few...things we need to be doing," he said, giving Kushina a pointed look, who returned it by a dismayed, disappointed one. Apparently she wanted to stick around, so Naruto cleared his throat to give her a hint.

"Fine," she said, sulking slightly but following Minato as he walked out of the room. "We'll see you later, kid!" She called, grinning and waving at him.

Sakura then walked up to Naruto and gave him a tight hug, kissing his cheek when she pulled away.

"I'm proud of you," she said, squeezing his shoulder. "And not just about the Mathletes!" She added, laughing as she glanced at Sasuke. She then moved to him, hesitating only slightly before giving him the same treatment, hug and kiss on the cheek.

"We've missed you," she said softly. "We'd both, but especially Naruto, like to see you again once in a while," she said, voice still soft and caring. He gave her a curt nod, stiff in her embrace until she moved away.

"No, wait!" A voice sounded once again at the door, and they all turned to see Kiba had apparently left to fetch a camera. "That would've been a nice one!" He said, looking put off. Sasuke scowled and Kiba cackled, raising the camera to immortalize the pure frustration on the boy's face.

"Awesome," he said after double checking the result. Naruto laughed, calling out to him.

"Hey, send me that one! I want it as my wallpaper," he said, grinning at Sasuke, who rolled his eyes.

Sakura gave them both a last smile before heading out, pulling Kiba along with him. She came back a few seconds later, this time to grab Sai who had almost melted into the wall in a corner, quiet and observing, writing notes into a little notebook.

"Okay, leaving you two for good this time!" She said with a nervous chuckle. They heard her hiss a 'Why are you taking inotes/i?!' before the footsteps and voices faded.

The room grew quiet again, and Naruto shifted on his feet awkwardly. What now? Should he say something? Naruto grew flustered as he thought back on what they'd been doing and what'd he'd wanted to do.

Kiba was definitely right. Sasuke was more than just a simple friend to him. He currently wasn't saying a single word, instead slowly re buttoning his shirt and picking up some things he'd left there before the competition. His silence scared Naruto a little, but what they'd done couldn't be denied or ignored, he knew that. Maybe they could work around the fact that they both wanted different things in life, that they both lived their lives differently as well. Naruto would always have some room for Sasuke, and he hoped Sasuke was ready to make a little room for him, as well.

"You're not coming back, are you?" He asked, softly, looking down at the desk in front of him. He suddenly busied himself to re-aligning it with the rest of the row, as it had been before Sasuke had pushed him up against it and...Clearing his throat, he turned back to Sasuke, who looked at him before shaking his head slowly.

"Figured," Naruto said, shrugging and giving him a sad smile. He could deal with that, as he had for the past three years, but he would've liked to bring him back.

"We can see each other, though, right?" He continued, voice rising with hope a little. His fingers trailed on the surface of one of the desks, glancing at Sasuke as he did so. He was closing up his bag and putting it over his shoulder.

"Perhaps," he said, frowning slightly as he spotted a sheet of paper that had slipped under a desk from his things. He leaned down to pick it up, folding it and slipping it into his pocket.

"We'll see," he added, the corner of his lips curving up slightly.

It wasn't a definite answer, but it was something. The heat of Sasuke's lips against his and his hands on his skin were more than something, and Naruto felt confident that things would only go upwards from now on. They'd breached a barrier, stepped over a wall, and even if it was only the beginning, he wasn't afraid.

"Let's go eat something," he offered, holding out his hand with a small grin. "My treat, for once," he said.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the hand he was being offered, looking down at it and back at Naruto's face.

"Do you expect me to hold your hand?" He asked, and if Naruto didn't know better he'd say he sounded amused. Truly, genuinely amused, not simply mocking someone for being so low.

With a roll of his eyes, Naruto hooked his two first fingers with Sasuke's, tugging slightly.

"Does this count?" He asked, his thumb running over Sasuke's knuckle affectionately as he grinned at him.

Sasuke smacked him upside the head with his free hand again, but didn't let go.

"It's the same thing, moron," he said. "I want to eat out at that fancy restaurant down the street," he added, smirking.

"...Not the one where one meal is about the same price as a meal for three in any other restaurant?" Naruto asked, dreading the answer. Sasuke had always been one for luxury, which didn't always go well for Naruto and his small, usually empty wallet.

"It's that, or I could let go of your hand...And never see you again," Sasuke said darkly, clearly amusing himself.

"Fine, fine!" Naruto gave in quickly enough, having an idea in mind. "But I want a kiss in exchange," he said, tugging on their hands to bring Sasuke closer, grinning at him.

Naruto thought for a second that Sasuke would drop his hand and turn around, but after a brief stare down, Sasuke gave in and leaned in for a kiss. It was a lot softer and lighter than their previous kissing, but Naruto found he didn't mind that, either. It sent warmth to his stomach and his chest, and he kissed back, tugging on Sasuke's lips as he brought a hand to the boy's jaw.

He was grinning so wide it almost hurt when he broke away, happier than he'd been in ages.

Because he knew that even if he had to crawl into Sasuke's home through the kitchen window to see him, it would be okay. Despite things not turning out the way he'd wished, it would be okay.

It was like some kind of mathematical law. However apart they might be, they were still drawn, drawn to the same converging points.


End file.
